Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors will step down as the struggling company ploughs ahead with an internal overhaul, including discussions on dealing with its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The corporation - once a Web powerhouse but now agonizing over a range of options to revive flagging growth - on Tuesday said it appointed former Rovi Corp CEO and International Business Machines Corp veteran Alfred Amoroso and ex-eBay COO Maynard Webb as independent directors. Yahoo's board has come under fire from investors impatient with the company's persistent inability to effect a turnaround, and frustrated with the apparent indecisiveness of stakeholders over ...
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has vowed to fight an "anti-business culture" in Britain, warning that a row overexecutive pay and bonuses threatens the country's fragile economic recovery. "Let me say something about the row over bonuses and pay," Osborne said in a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses. "Of course rewards for failure are unacceptable -- and those who believe in the free market are the first to say so. But a strong, free market economy must be built on rewards for success." The Labour Party has heaped pressure on the ruling coalition to curb excessive pay for top executives, using a House of Commons debate to demand the return ...
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
As President Christian Wulff remains mired in allegations of impropriety, anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called for politicians to use the case as a chance to open up German politics. “We are very concerned that people seem to be starting to think that all politicians behave like Wulff, and that would be fatal,” Christian Humborg, TI Germany’s managing director told The Local. “I think the Wulff affair is a wonderful opportunity for German politicians to react to the cynical attitude that this is normal, and improve things,” he said. He said the fact that the authorities were investigating whether Wulff and his ...
Japan recorded their first FIFA World Cup™ win on foreign soil after Keisuke Honda’s 39th-minute strike proved enough to down Cameroon at the Free State Stadium. Honda’s decisive contribution was handsome reward for Japan coach Takeshi Okada’s gamble to deploy the CSKA Moscow midfielder in a central attacking role in an attempt to remedy his team’s lack of goals. The Japanese, without a clean sheet in their warm-up... [more]
A Simon Poulsen own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late winner earned the Netherlands a deserved 2-0 win over Denmark at Johannesburg’s Soccer City as the Dutch took an early lead in Group E and stretched their long unbeaten run. Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk had sprung a pre-match surprise with the inclusion of Arjen Robben as a substitute and the early stages could certainly have done with the Bayern Munich winger’s pace and trickery. With... [more]
Up to 10 million people in the Netherlands are expected to watch Monday afternoon’s World Cup football match between the Netherlands and Denmark. All over the country schools have agreed to close early or set up giant screens, while company canteens have been given over to football fever. As newspaper Trouw puts it: ‘this afternoon the Dutch economy depends on people who don’t like football’. ArboNed, a company which... [more]
England captain Rio Ferdinand has been injured during training for the World Cup. Ferdinand has been taken to hospital for a scan on his left knee. The central defender suffered the injury during the final couple of minutes of training. England manager Fabio Capello said he was uncertain at this stage of the severity of the injury. But he confirmed: “Rio picked up a knee problem in training. It happened near the end. “He has... [more]
AUSTRALIAN-born tennis prodigy Laura Robson apologised today for branding some of her young international female rivals “sluts” who “go with every guy”. The Melbourne-raised 16-year-old, who now represents Britain, made the controversial remarks in an interview and glamorous photo shoot with British Vogue magazine. She said: “Some of the tennis girls, they’re sluts. “They go with every guy and make... [more]
Rockers Coldplay have agreed to sponsor a village cricket team. Frontman Chris Martin and his bandmates agreed to support Gloucestershire County League team Slaughters United after club secretary Paul Heming wrote to bass player Guy Berryman asking for financial help. Berryman, who had previously sponsored a nearby rugby team, is a huge sports fan and was only too happy to help, offering to pay for the team’s strip. Spinner.com reports... [more]
Dutch football coach Bert van Marwijk has finalised his selection for the World Cup in South Africa, following the football friendly against Mexico on Wednesday. According to the Telegraaf, Orlando Engelaar, Vurnon Anita, Jeremain Lens and Ron Vlaar have been dropped, leaving 20 players and three keepers to complete the preparations. The final line-up: Goal: Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht) and Sander Boschker (FC Twente) Defence:... [more]
Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole has filed for divorce from her husband, Chelsea defender Ashley, citing unreasonable behaviour. The X Factor judge’s PR firm confirmed she was seeking a permanent split from her husband after almost four years of marriage. Newspaper reports claim she is not asking for any money from the footballer, who was allegedly unfaithful to his wife with several women. They were compounded by reports that his mobile... [more]
All the indications are that he will be the new manager at Real Madrid. Relations between Real Madrid and Inter de Milan are reported to be excellent as talks get underway on José Mourinho breaking his contract with the Italian club to come to Spain. Reports indicate that ‘the special one’ has not signed anything as yet, but he is on record as saying that he is to leave Inter and is fed up with Italy. The hard bargaining will get underway... [more]
South African airport security has been exposed ahead of the World Cup, appearing to ridicule claims by the host country its defences are water tight. Undercover radio reporters managed to take steak knives, screwdrivers, razors, pairs of scissors and even syringes on to flights without detection. The Eyewitness News reporters tested 10 flights at various host city airports. “In more than half of the incidences, we managed to get on... [more]
